THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 28, 1996 TAG: 9601280323
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C17 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
Great crowd, great matches, Great Bridge victory.
That's been the pattern when the top-ranked Wildcats have met No. 2 Western Branch in recent years in what has still been the area's most compelling wrestling rivalry.
Saturday, to the dismay of Bruins fans, that pattern continued.
The five-time defending state champion and area top-ranked Wildcats dominated the middle weight classes en route to a 38-24 Southeastern District-title clinching victory over No. 2 Western Branch before a near-capacity crowd at Western Branch.
Both teams advance to the Eastern Region Duals beginning Friday at Lake Taylor, and will meet either Gloucester or Denbigh.
The matchup of the top two teams in last year's Group AAA state tournament was epic stuff through four weight classes. The Bruins won three of the four, each time with some exhilarating, last-second heroics. But they took only a 9-3 lead into the heart of the Wildcats' lineup, not nearly enough of a cushion given the quality of the Great Bridge wrestlers from 130-189.
``We were really fired up,'' said Great Bridge 145-pounder Stacy Woodhouse, whose first-period pin of Carlton Benton was part of a eight-match string during which the Wildcats outscored the Bruins 35-6. ``We came in knowing we had to win certain weights, and the guys came through.''
For the record, the victory was Great Bridge's seventh in a row over Western Branch, 50th straight over Southeastern opponents, and it clinched the team's sixth straight district title. Of course, the Wildcats stopped doing cartwheels over winning streaks and league championships some three or four state titles ago. Besides, dousing coach Steve Martin with a cooler of water probably would have been a bad idea on this night anyway, as Martin seemed less than pleased with the Wildcats' overall performance.
``We need 14 guys to wrestle up their ability, not eight or nine,'' Martin said.
The crowd got revved up Saturday from the outset, as 103-pounders Matt Viola of Western Branch and Matt DiDio of Great Bridge went at each other as though theirs were the only bout on the card. Viola, who pinned DiDio during the Virginia Duals, rallied from a point down with a reveral and three-point near-fall in the final 20 seconds for a 9-6 victory.
Great Bridge's Brian Childress answered with a 5-0 victory over Daniel Smith at 112, but Richard Slocumb gave the Bruins the advantage again with a 9-7 triumph over top-ranked Bruce Fowler at 119, and teammate Matt Peppers followed with a 4-2 overtime victory over Charlie Haltom at 125.
But things quickly turned sour for the Bruins from there, as a pin by Carl Perry (130) got the Wildcats rolling.
The only remaining highlights for the Bruins came at 152, where top-ranked Sean Sanderlin pinned No. 2 Michael Harper for the second time this month, and at 215 and 275, where Marcus Edmunds and Marvin Urquhart notched victories. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
L. TODD SPENCER
Great Bridge's Charlie Haltom, his head at left, and Western
Branch's Matt Peppers tangle in their 125-pound match, won by
Peppers in overtime.
by CNB